Wednesday, 27 February 2008

It was only last week that I wrote about the effect of the Davidian Revolution on Scotland.

In particular, I was struck with the wikipedia section on David 1st and the economy:

"What is more, no less than the written word, the coin acted upon the culture and mental categories of people who made use of it. Like a seal displaying the king in majesty, the coin broadcast the image of the ruler to his people..."

Saturday, 23 February 2008

Headlined today on the BBC website is the story that Tate and Lyle sugar is to be accredited with Fairtrade status, which, in principal, means that local producers in the developing countries receive a "fair price" for their commodities and additionally T&L "invest further to improve local working conditions and local sustainability".

If we want to see the direction that our "new global world" is headed in, it is perhaps informative to look again briefly at the history of Tate and Lyle, well Mr. Lyle anyway - the founder of Lyles Golden Syrup. Keen readers may remember my post earlier this year when I wrote about the special "anniversary" golden tin in my post, The Golden Lion.

Mr Abram Lyle was born in Greenock,West Scotland, making his money from trading with the West Indies. In 1881, he opened his London sugar refinery with the help of his sons, the advertising and marketing logo of the brand have remained the same since their introduction in 1885, which has resulted in a Guinness Book of Records entry.

"The tins are believed to be Britain's oldest brand, with its green and gold packaging and image of a lion with a biblical quotation having remained almost unchanged since 1885. In Book of Judges, Chapter 14, Samson was travelling to the land of the Philistines in search of a wife. During the journey he killed a lion, and on his return past the same spot he noticed that a swarm of bees had formed a comb of honey in the carcass. Samson later turned this into a riddle at a wedding: "Out of the eater came forth meat and out of the strong came forth sweetness". While no one is sure why this quotation was chosen, Abram Lyle was a deeply religious man and it has been suggested that it refers either to the strength of the Lyle company which delivers the sweet syrup or possibly even to the trademark tins in which Golden Syrup is sold."

A cynic might suggest that exploiting the "undeveloped" countries for over 127 years and now "fairtrading" would perhaps be a fair summary of the Lyle business strategy, bearing in mind that the "trade" with the West Indies, by which Mr Lyle initially acquired his wealth, is likely to be slave related.

And to the future ?

We can perhaps take a glimpse ahead of the freemasonic global strategy by drawing on Mr Lyle's swarming bumble bees and another marketing "icon", the recently reincarnated honey monster of Sugar Puff fame.

From wikipedia:

"The Honey Monster was first seen on TV in the 1970s in an advertisment created by Pat Dobbin of NUI Galway mime troup supermime2000. The ad focused around a nutritional message which was illustrated by a "mother" (played by Henry McGee) and "child" (the Honey Monster) relationship. The mother was responsible for what the child was eating. The child wanted honeyand would cry “Tell them about the honey, mummy!”.

And our beloved re-risen honey monster's golden plans :

"In February 2007, Sugar Puffs and the newly returned Honey Monster launched the Hive Action campaign. Hive Action is a year long fundraising collaboration with Hives Save Lives Africa. The project aims to promote the power of honey in Africa to alleviate poverty and is supported by Ben Fogle and Liz McLarnon of Atomic Kitten."

"We cannot tell a lie. George Washington, America's first president was a Scottish Freemason. It was never a secret that Washington was an enthusiastic member of the craft, but now his Scots connection has emerged. Washington was in Fredericksburg Lodge number 4 in Virginia which got its charter from the Grand Lodge of Scotland in Edinburgh in 1758. The lodge was started by West of Scotland freemasons who dominated the tobacco industry there until the American Revolution in 1776."

It was not that long ago that I wrote my posting Communication in Mysterious Ways, commenting upon the similarities between Donald Trump's proposed Scottish housing/golf development and the epic eighties film, Local Hero.

It now seems that the film's anniversary is to be marked with a special screening at the Glasgow film festival. The link to the BBC video report on this from yesterday is available here - for those interested - where they also note the parallels.

Friday, 22 February 2008

Often recently I have heard it said via media that Gordon Brown's late signature upon the Treaty of Lisbon last December was somehow symbolic of his reluctance to agree to the new treaty. We are led to believe that he is not in fact too keen on the whole debacle, thus he signed later than the other 26 countries representatives.

This nonsense can easily be disproved by reference to Mr Brown's comments only yesterday when he attended a news conference after meeting EU President Jose Manuel Barraso in Brussels. From the BBC:

"UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown has said economic reform within the European Union "must accelerate" if the 27-nation organisation is to prosper.

He has also described the EU as being "essential to the success of Britain, and a Britain fully engaged in Europe is essential to the success of the EU".

Thursday, 21 February 2008

Yet another God sent natural communication has arrived in Scotland, this time a potentially "deadly" Harlequin ladybird has been spotted for the first time, one in Perthshire, not far from Mohamed al-Fayed's mansion, another in the remote Orkney islands. It is believed that tourists have somehow transported them.

From the BBC:"It has a voracious appetite and they favour aphids, but once they've eaten them they turn to other things including the young of our own ladybirds and the eggs and caterpillars of moths and butterflies."

Harlequin is the given name because of the species tendency to vary in colour, however looking at the meaning of harlequin itself, we find, ominously :

"1590, from M.Fr. harlequin, from O.Fr. Herlequin, Hellequin, etc., leader of la maisnie Hellequin, a troop of demons who rode the night air on horses. He corresponds to O.E. Herla cyning "King Herla," mythical character sometimes identified as Woden; possibly also the same as the Ger. Erlkönig "Elf King" of the Goethe poem. Sometimes also associated with Herrequin, 9c. count of Boulogne, who was proverbially wicked. In Eng. pantomime, a mute character who carries a magic wand. His It. form, arlecchino, is one of the stock characters of commedia del'arte. From his ludicrous dress comes the Eng. meaning "particolored" (1779)."

This ties in quite well with my previous posting, the King David stag hunting story, if we look at the mythology of Herla:

"A mythical king, the supposed leader of The Wild Hunt of Scandinavian mythology. This was known as the Raging Host in Germany and as Herlathing in England, from the name, Herla."For sure, the messages are thick and fast.

Wednesday, 20 February 2008

It was a Holy Day in 1127 when King David decided to go hunting, against the advice of his priest. Close to Edinburgh Castle he was suddenly confronted by a white stag which set about him. In desperation, he grabbed the beast's antlers to protect himself - miraculously they transformed into a cross - the King was spared and built a church on the spot, to be known thereafter as Holy-rood or Holy Cross.

First the church or abbey was constructed, then another very close, called St Anthonys, then the royal palace of Holyrood and finally, far more recently, the new Scottish Parliament building. The surrounding countryside, including extinct lion shaped volcano Arthur's seat, was turned into royal parkland, which indeed it still is.

"Rood" is an old word for "cross", usually meaning the crucifixion cross of Jesus; thus the name is equivalent to "Holy Cross." A legend relates that King David I got into difficulties hunting in the woods and was saved by a stag with an illuminated cross between its horns, then vowed to build a church on the spot. The name is more commonly pronounced as Holly-rood as well as the less commonly used Holy-rood."

As well as the white stag legend, there were many other social changes which King David "brought" with him to Scotland - so numerous and so significant that they are collectively termed the Davidian Revolution. This was part of a ongoing cultural European revolution. From wikipedia (linked):

"In applying this model to Scotland, it would be considered that, as recently as the reign of David’s father Máel Coluim III, "peripheral" Scotland had lacked – in relation to the "core" cultural regions of northern France, western Germany and England – respectable Catholic religion, a truly centralized royal government, conventional written documents of any sort, native coins, a single merchant town, as well as the essential castle-building cavalry elite. After David’s reign, it had gained all of these."

"During the reign of king David I, then, comparatively straightforward evidence of "Europeanization" was produced in Scotland – that adoption of the homogenized political, economic, social and cultural modes of medieval civilization, suitably modified for the distinctive Scottish milieu, which in tandem with similar adoptions elsewhere led to the creation of "Europe" as an identifiable entity for the first time. This is not to say that the Gaelic matrix into which these additions were disseminated was somehow destroyed or swept away; that was not the way in which the paradigm or "blueprint" of medieval Europe functioned – it was only a guide, one that specialized in amelioration, and not (usually) demolition."

So we can surmise that David transformed the culture and social structure of Scotland, bringing it up to date, yet not by outright domination but rather by a gradual and slow merging into the New Europe as it was then. Friendly amalgamation or so it would seem.

Could be that the legend of David and the deer is without substance and that it is allegorical of an entirely new culture and religion replacing the old celtic lifestyle, which did indeed hold the white stag as a creature of reverence and deep symbological meaning. Hence the cross replaces the antlers. Perhaps though there was a white stag roaming about in 1127, perhaps it was an portent of what was to follow.

For, eleven years later at the Battle of the Standard, David took his Scottish army to Northallerton in England to fight for his niece Matilda and her claim for the English throne. There he proudly unveiled his new flag - the dragon decorated Scottish Royal Standard:

"An earlier recorded Scottish Royal standard featured a dragon, which is known to have been used at the Battle of the Standard in 1138 by David I."

And of the Scottish troops fighting under the dragon emblem ? Again we read from wikipedia:

"The army which invaded England in the January and February of 1138 shocked the English chroniclers, and the shock was compounded even more by the fact that it was led by "their" David. Richard of Hexam called it "an execrable army, savager than any race of heathen yielding honour to neither God nor man" and that it "harried the whole province and slaughtered everywhere folk of either sex, of every age and condition, destroying, pillaging and burning the villas, churches and houses". Several doubtful stories of cannibalism entered the chronicle records, as well as routine enslavings and killings of churchmen, women and infants. Henry of Huntingdon wrote that the Scots:

cleft open pregnant women, and took out the unborn babes; they tossed children upon the spear-points, and beheaded priests on altars: they cut the head of crucifixes, and placed them on the trunks of the slain; and placed the heads of the dead upon the crucifixes. Thus wherever the Scots arrived, all was full of horror and full of savagery.

Could we surmise from this that David brought a strange type of "Christian" culture with him to Scotland. Certainly it seems that humanity was forgotten back then and, to all intents and purposes, has never recovered.

Tuesday, 19 February 2008

I recently wrote about Donald Trump and his coat of arms, commenting that if one was of the mind to manipulate a persons, or indeed peoples, thinking, then it is not the hardest thing in the world to do.

During the course of that, I also very briefly touched on Egyptian Mohammed al-Fayed, owner of Harrods and father of Dodi, hence his appearance yesterday at the Princess Diana enquiry where he was taking the stand and presenting his "conspiracy" allegations to the coroner.

We read today of a string of accusations: Tony Blair and Prince Philip ordered her murder to prevent her marrying his son, furthermore that Philip is the real power behind the "Dracula" Royal Family and is a Nazi. The list seemed endless.

Moving back though to the Scottish connection, Mr al-Fayed owns a 65,ooo-acre estate called Balnagown, "makes" his own whisky and takes great delight in roaming around in a kilt - his own tartan of course. He gave an interview to the Sunday Mirror in 1999 where he stated, in regard to proposed land reforms:

"My people, the people I employ love me; I am their laird and I will fight these plans all the way.

"The Scottish people are wonderful, but they are being badly let down by their politicians."

He added: "I feel like your Lawrence of Arabia, in reverse. I am Mohamed of the Glen."

Mr al-Fayed's use of this latter phrase - which gives rise to the title of this posting - is of course a pun on the Scots phrase Monarch of the Glen, the monarch referring to a stag, the male of the native red deer.

Which ties in quite nicely with the white stag portent of last week as well as the Spinningdale incident which I wrote about recently.

"I like to sit in the chair in my kilt," he said. "The ancient Egyptians wore a sort of kilt, so I don't think I look out of place."

Monday, 18 February 2008

Saturday, 16 February 2008

It was reported yesterday that Donald Trump is being investigated over the use of a coat of arms which he is utilising in order to market his planned golf-centered housing development in Aberdeenshire.

It seems that The Court of the Lord Lyon have invoked a old law which states that a coat of arms must be registered and as such are looking for Donald to pay the registration and other fees, in order that he can legally display his design. It should be noted that the total costs will only amount to roughly £2,200, a paltry sum for a man of his means.Mr Trump's design is quite interesting and perhaps reveals more of the man, - a spear clutching fist sits directly upon a square set on it's side. Three rampant lions (please see Snapdragon Towers) and a couple of parallel lines are the basis for the shield which sits below. At the bottom of the heap, the nefarious Trump moniker.

It is not the first time that the the procurator fiscal to the Lyon Court has taken issue with illegal coat of arms on display, one only has to go back a few years to recall Harrods boss Mohamed al Fayed facing similar charges and having to remove an unauthorised emblem at his Balnagown Castle.

So it could be said that a man with legal advisors par excellence, i.e. DT, would be well aware of legislation and laws and perhaps chose to pursue this course of action - knowing fine well the consequences. In that manner, us, the gullible public, believe that our authorities are taking a firm line with Trump because that was "his" original intention. It's a simple strategy.We see the same in the new European order and the Treaty of Lisbon. It is being "argued" over by our politicians, yet they are not debating about whether this is the beginning of a new super continent, rather they quibble over trivialities. No one is telling the truth, yet it is plain to see, the further developments this week have reaffirmed exactly what the true European agenda is.

A controlled population, perimeter fences, identification, the citizens engaged in a war against global warming, the existing British monarchy seemingly at the forefront of this battle. You are seeing the foundations of the future, yet not being told of the consequences.

Remember, they already know what they want the outcome to be - it has always been the plan.

Saturday, 9 February 2008

Further to yesterdays posting which you need to read before this, a BBC video news report is available here called Operation Rat - showing baits of candlewax and cocoa being laid by "rat-catchers", Abbie Patterson and John Sinclair, on St. Kilda, in order to ascertain whether or nor rats have arrived via the shipwrecked trawler Spinningdale. This bait is seemingly irresistible to rodents and will be examined for tooth marks; thus confirming the invasion either way.

It seems though that it is not all plain sailing and that perhaps more signals are being sent, in a roundabout way.

The BBC crew who initially went to film,were plagued with difficulties, one falling and breaking an ankle, the other falling violently ill with seasickness. The trip had to be aborted and a fresh crew dispatched, can can read the full report here, from the Daily Record.

And from todays Scotsman, we find more calamity, the rat-catchers themselves now trapped, their helicopter grounded by storm force winds.

Just to confirm my thoughts and the title of this post, we find that a ward in Glasgow Royal Infirmary was closed yesterday due to an outbreak of scabies, a disease caused by an allergic skin reaction to the parasitic mite, Sarcoptes scabiei, which burrows into the skin like a Spinningdale mammal, causing intense itching. That naturally leads us to Rat Scabies, drummer with punk band the Damned.

Something else that is relevant is that 1st February is known as Brigid's Day in Irish mythology, the day before Imbolc, a cross-quarter festival day from ancient times and in fact dedicated to the goddess Brigid.

Thursday, 7 February 2008

Further research into the curious case of the rats of St Kilda has proved valuable.

I confess dear readers that initially on hearing the wrecked Spanish trawler was called the Spinningdale I simply checked wikipedia and found nothing. However, the BBC released a video report showing the stricken craft which bared the number 29, and my curiosity was once again aroused.The Spinningdale, built 40 years ago in Aberdeen as a fishing trawler, one of around 30 similar vessels built at the same time, all named after coastal villages in Scotland. Her number FD29, the FD standing for Fleetwood, an English fishing port very close to Blackpool. She was in the hands of new Spanish owners by 1985, her registration retained though the vessel refitted with a full shelter deck. Today, she lies wrecked in Village Bay, Hirta, St Kilda, after an incident on 1st February this year.

Spinningdale itself, the village that lent it's moniker to the craft, an ancient coastal settlement, inhabited by Vikings who arrived in the area around 800 AD, hence its name, from Norwegian, spinne meaning round and dalhr for valley. However, there is evidence of human settlement from ancient "prehistoric" times, the area littered with the remains of stone burial cairns going back at least 5000 years, perhaps further.Nowadays it's not the largest of communities by any stretch of the imagination; a still functioning, friendly and hospitable Old Mill Inn, the ruins of the mill itself - now a scheduled ancient monument yet once the centre of a thriving community in the 18th and 19th centuries then sadly destroyed by fire, the village a ghost town by the 1830's, deserted by the jackdaws, as the former inhabitants referred to themselves.1A more recent addition is a large secluded single storied house called the Bungalow2, set within thick oak woodland on the edge of the sea-loch and built in the 1920's by a Mr Chance, before being subsequently purchased by actor James Robertson Justice.Mr. Justice was an interesting character; a veteran of the acting profession his films include Whisky Galore, Land of the Pharaohs, and Scott of the Antarctic amongst many others. To relax from his professional activities, Justice indulged in his pleasure of falconry, keeping a collection of hawks and suchlike and it was this that led to his friendship with Princes Phillip and Charles. Indeed so well acquainted with royalty was Mr Justice, that whilst the Royal train was stationed at Ardgay the two Princes - "stayed at the bungalow, regularly dropping in to the Mill Inn for their evening pint.".

Coincidentally perhaps, a new biography of James Robertson Justice is due to be released this very month.

Now we must travel to 1910, the year when Robert Falcon Scott began his ill fated journey to Antarctica, and where we find written details of another expedition, this one carried out by an Alexander o' Curle, an archaeologist who explored one of the Spinningdale cairns known locally as Red DogCairn. Although he found a skeleton, the bones were much decayed, the skull missing and he suspected the tomb chamber had already been "rifled"; as such any objects that may have been buried alongside sadly pilfered. There was however evidence of another creatures activity within the grave, as recorded:

"On the top of it lay the remains of a rat's larder, - a number of empty cocoons of the emperor or some other moth gathered from the heather, the jaw of a small rodent, and some other fragments of bone. The rats hole was visible in one corner".

Yet it is Mr 'o Curles tale of the legend of another Spinningdale cairn, a larger one, that I find most interesting of all:

"Many hundred years ago, so runs the tale, a fell disease visited the district and took a grevious toll of its inhabitants. To the survivors its destruction became a matter of supreme moment and of no insurmountable difficulty. Everyone knew where the disease was. The scene of its ravages was only too well known. Accordingly, they formed themselves into a great circle around the infected area, gradually diminishing its diameter as they walked inward, keeping their prey before them. Just as they were converging on the centre, crowding round from all sides, the disease, in the form of a small animal, vanished underground. To make sure that it would have no opportunity of reappearing in their midst, they raised this great cairn over the spot where it had disappeared"

Unfortunately, there are no specific details provided for the the deadly disease, nor the "small animal". Your author wonders if perhaps it refers to the rat, although we have to bear in mind that the species of rat in the UK now, the brown rat, rattus norvegicus, is not the same as the black rat, rattus rattus, which carried the Black Death, and itself was an immigrant to Britain, arriving at these shores via ships during the time of the Crusades. Perhaps it alludes to something indescribably horrific, something to be forgotten by alteration. Something that is rising again ?

From the Spinningdale website:"From the few modern excavations on chambered tombs, it seems that only certain members of the Neolithic society were buried in these burial cairns. It is inferred as there are always very few interments relative to the density of Neolithic populations, and given the centuries these communal tombs or mausolea were in use. An interesting note is that very few complete skeletons have been found in these burial mounds. These interments seem to mark the end of their cairns use. Usually it is only the skulls and long bones that are recovered. One major theory is that the special people interred in the cairns had their bodies brought out at intervals, until only the large bones survived, eventually their remaining large bones were permanently 'rested' in their tombs. The more ordinary folk of the Neolithic seem to have been initially exposed to the elements, birds and other scavengers in what are termed 'mortuary enclosures', often close to burial cairns."

"There have been studies on Scottish islands which would seem to indicate that these funeral cairns have overviews in their landscapes making up 'farm parcels'. Other cairns actually define the parcel boundaries. At least two of the Spinningdale cairns do not match these either of these theories. At the present, we cannot say that all the cairns and other monuments that were in our Glen area have been found. We also do not know what cairns have been 'lost' over the centuries."

So, what can we surmise from this when put in conjunction with my recent post Space Invaders (Rat-a-tat-tat) when I discussed the St Kilda aspect of this affair.

The Spinningdale suffers an Act of God and runs aground on St Kilda -The Island at the Edge of the World - a place steeped in ancient unique ancient architecture and similar history - now the home of a missile defense radar station. A trawler, named after a tiny Scottish coastal village with a similarly ancient history, runs aground there. The fear is that rats will desert the sinking ship and colonise the island, thus bringing carnage to the local residents.

Additionally.

Again on the 1st of February an undersea water cable was damaged, seriously damaging internet and telephone connections to Dubai.

"Officials said Friday it was unclear what caused the damage to FLAG's FALCON cable about 50 kilometers off Dubai. A repair ship was en route, FLAG said."More on this here.

Just for the record, it should be noted that there was another shipping casualty in UK waters on the the same day. The ship in this instance was called Riverdance. The location was Blackpool, literally a stone throw from Fleetwood, where, as you will recall, The Spinningdale was first registered.

The Gentle Falconer: a short resume of James Robertson Justice by Howard Watson can be found here

Many thanks to Charlie from the Old Mill Inn for the Spinningdale history and for allowing me to quote from it. It was much appreciated and a most interesting and informative site. I did not have time to go into the history of the mill itself and the expansion of the village in the 1700's although it is interesting and possibly pertinent.

1) I am interested that the locals named themselves "Jackdaws." Again see my St Kilda posting, jackdaws were one of the species studied by Konrad Lorenz in terms of social behavior in his book, King Solomons Ring. Coincidentally, the collective term for a flock of jackdaws is a train, which ties in quite well with the mode of Royal transport when visiting the "bungalow".

2) the wikipedia reference for a bungalow can be found here, it is most interesting in terms of extended families.

Wednesday, 6 February 2008

Jerome Kerviel the French rogue trader has stated that he will not be made a "scapegoat" for the multi million pound losses incurred by his employers Societe Generale. He is now under twenty-four hour police protection, the full BBC story on the update can be found here.

Over at the End of the World, ratcatchers have been dispatched in case of deserters from sinking ship, The Spinningdale - rather than the crumbling financial markets. This story has now reached mainpage rather than regional BBC news, the reports are here and here for those interested.

Monday, 4 February 2008

In my post Hell of the Dentist, I stated that the current political debate over the Treaty of Lisbon would commence on the of 29th of January and was scheduled to finish on the 9th of February.

In fact, no date has yet been fixed for the conclusion, I simply added 12 days to the first day of debate, forgetting that there may be some breaks and that, unlike the proposals for our doctors working hours, Members of Parliament don't work weekends.

Matters commenced on 29th as scheduled and proceed as follows,

6 February: Commons debate day 3: on human rights aspects of treaty

7 February: Commons debate day 4: on aspects of treaty relating to single market

Sunday, 3 February 2008

More communication of the mysterious variety has arrived.First we must embark on a journey,At the very westernmost point of the Outer Hebrides, too far west to even be seen on the above map, lies an ultra-remote chain of small islands, or archipelago, called St. Kilda, where the only human inhabitants are military personnel, the last civilian inhabitants being evacuated in 1930. The military presence involves a base which is seemingly a Ministry of Defence radar station, although one never knows for certain what goes on behind closed doors.A mere glance through the extensive wikipedia entry, as highlighted above, shows a long documented history of this wild and windy place; unique remains of curious ancient boat shaped rings, horned shaped architecture and Druid worship sit alongside legends of Bonnie Prince Charlie and a female warrior - the Amazon. More recently British film maker Michael Powell based his first film here, the 1937 classic - The Edge of the World.

However potential danger beckons for St Kilda, the native bird life anyway. On Friday, during force 11 gales, a Spanish trawler called the Spinningdale ran aground, the crew being rescued by a Coastguard S92 helicopter whilst another, a RAF Sea King 137, was scrambled and put on stand-by to help. You can find the report here, it contains a link to the rescue footage for those who like that sort of thing.On Saturday the National Trust for Scotland voiced fears that rats may be harbouring on the stricken vessel and may invade the island, colonise, and wreak havoc on the sea bird population which includes puffins and Leach's storm pestrels. You can read the BBC report on this development here.

Moving back current communication, yet again as noted in previous posts we have repetition of the number 11. . Storm force gales of that power, additionally both helicopter numbers total the twin one's. An potential invasion of the Edge of the World ,then colonisation and massacre of the local inhabitants by dirty rodents who, curiously, live in a clan type social structure very similar to that of humans. Rats are most fascinating creatures, Konrad Lorenz studied them extensively, making several parallels to human collective behaviour.

Vermin

And it is to parallels that I turn to for my next "coincidence". Going back to Michael Powell, we find that he directed his 3rd film with Emeric Pressburger, called the 49th Parallel. It was released in the USA as The Invaders, the plot being based round Nazi soldiers in Canada.

Saturday, 2 February 2008

There is a multitude that could be written about the historic, perhaps ancient, town of Linlithgow. Once a Roman fort stood here and later, from the 12th century, the town became a favourite of the monarchy, reaching the lofty social status of Royal Burgh and hosting the births of both James V and Mary Queen of Scots in it's lavish palace.And yet, while the history may in itself be both fascinating and perhaps extremely relevant, today we must initially travel forwards in time, to the year twenty two twenty two.For it is then in Linlithgow that Montgomery Scott is to be born. Third in command of the Starship Enterprise in the original Star Trek series, Montgomery is described in Wikipedia as "an engineer with no known equal in the universe"

By the time the first Star Trek movie - The Motion Picture was made, Mr Scott had been elevated in position to Commander ,although the cast changed in subsequent films. Now a Star Trek X1 is being produced which will resurrect the original characters, Kirk, Spock and of course Montgomery himself , or "Scotty" as he was known to friends, colleagues and viewers.

And so to the present.

Yesterday's Daily Express told how plans are underway, coordinated from Vulcan in Canada, to stage the European premiere of Star Trek X1 in Linlithgow - despite the fact it no longer has a cinema, the nearest being twelve miles or so away in Livingston. However local Provost Tom Kerr dismissed this as a mere "logistical" problem, so eager is he for the event to happen. The full report can be read here.

Regular readers will recall my recent Snapdragon Towers and the numerical coincidences appertaining to the number 11 in relation to the Treaty of Lisbon and the Battle of the Standard . Here again are an abundance of elevens- Scotty's year of birth, 2222, and the movie title itself, Star Trek X1, the Roman 11.

The European premiere - in Linlithgow, capital of West Lothian - as discussed in MacLantis - The West Lothian Question early this year, with reference to peculiar sculptures, UFO abductions and ancient burial grounds.

Friday, 1 February 2008

Those who take their communication in mysterious ways will perhaps be interested in this.A BBC wildlife photography unit who were filming a pack of wolves in the Canadian Artic have managed to record remarkable footage of wolves taking to water to hunt birds - behaviour that has never been seen before according to a "wolf expert".